1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chess games and, more specifically, to a chess variant and method of play thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of chess is well-known, dating back hundreds or even thousands of years by most accounts. Conventional chess is a two-player game played on a chessboard having sixty-four alternating black and white squares comprising eight horizontal rows, and eight vertical columns. In conventional chess, each player begins the game with sixteen movable game pieces as follows: one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights and eight Pawns. The object of conventional chess is to “checkmate” the opposing player's King. Each player's pieces are initially positioned in a predetermined opposed, mirrored relation to his opponent's pieces. The players alternate turns by moving any one of their pieces to a different square on the chess board according to predefined movement rules. A player captures his opponent's pieces during a turn by moving his piece into a square occupied by one of the opponent's pieces. The rules associated with conventional chess are well known and are generally outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,523 to Fioriglio and U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,334 to Duke, which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.
By rule, each game piece in classic chess has limitations placed upon its movement. For example, the King generally may move one square in any available direction (e.g. horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). The Queen may move through any number of unobstructed squares in any straight line (e.g. horizontally, vertically or diagonally). The Queen may not jump other pieces. The Rook may move through any number of unobstructed squares in a straight line, either horizontally or vertically. The Rook may not jump other pieces. The Bishop may move through any number of unobstructed squares in any straight diagonal line. The Bishop may not jump other pieces. The Knight makes a move which consists of a first one-square step in either a horizontal or a vertical direction, and a second one-square step diagonally. The Knight may jump other pieces. With the following two exceptions, the Pawn may only move forward one square. First, on its initial move, the Pawn may move forward one or two squares. Second, the Pawn captures other pieces by moving one square diagonally.
It should be noted that in conventional chess, other variant moves are permitted under limited circumstances, such as “castling” moves and “en passant” capture moves. Castling involves the simultaneous movement of the King and the Rook. Several castling moves are known. For example, in one castling move the King moves horizontally along a row two squares inward toward the Rook, and the Rook moves horizontally over and beyond the King to the next adjacent square in that row. An “en passant” capture is a move executed by the Pawn in which the Pawn attacks an opposing Pawn, the opposing Pawn having just been advanced two squares from its original square in one move. In such circumstances, the attacking Pawn may move diagonally one square into the square passed over by the opposing Pawn and capture the Pawn.
In addition to classical chess, many alternative versions of chess have developed throughout the years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,287 to Pendexter and U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,716 to Trice disclose exemplary variations on conventional chess. However, these prior art chess variants require a non-standard sized chess board to accommodate new pieces. Thus, a player is required to carry the non-standard sized chess board to the locale at which he wishes play. Furthermore, non-movable chess boards, such as chess boards integrated into a decorative game table or granite park table, are unable to support chess variants requiring non-standard sized chess boards. Thus, it is desirable to provide a chess variant that may utilize traditionally-sized chessboards, while maintaining exciting and effective playability.
Although non-standard sized boards offer enhanced playability, the games pieces and set of rules for a particularly sized board are applicable only to that board and may not be ported to boards of other sizes or configurations. Thus, once a player becomes familiar with the underlying rules of the chess variant corresponding to a particular sized board, the rules knowledge and game-play knowledge acquired by playing that chess variant is inapplicable to other chess variants. Frustratingly, this requires the player to learn new rules and strategies for other chess variants, as opposed to building upon his existing knowledge. Thus, it is desirable to provide a chess variant that maintains a similar underlying set of rules and game pieces that may be applied to both a traditional chess board as well as various non-standard sized boards.
Additionally, a need exists to minimize the complexity and learning curve of the chess variant that is sought to be played, thereby increasing the appeal of the chess variant to a wide player demographic. Furthermore, although prior art chess variants are playable, they may not necessarily be played intelligently, as the players are not aware of the value and strength of each new piece in relation to the non-standard board size or configuration. Thus, prior art chess variants are not fully developed to encompass higher levels of game-play.
As shown, a need exists for a new and improved chess variant that is a logical extension of ordinary or conventional chess but utilizes new pieces in conjunction with standard or non-standard sized chess boards to provide new challenges to conventional opening moves, capture strategies, promotions, etc.